Various Artists - The Matrix Reloaded (19 tracks) +Album Reviews +Used CD available for Swap

Mostly Brilliant

tee_jay | Middletown, NJ | 05/06/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bought this CD the day it came out and it was well worth it. While not perfect it still has the right combination of metal, classical score, and techno/hip-hop. Sometimes all those elements are fused into one song! I'll go song by song:Disc 1:
1: "Session" by Linkin Park: Very un-Linkin Park; haunting, beautiful, melodic and atmospheric all at the same time. 2: "This is the New Sh*t" by Marilyn Manson: Unlike the title suggests, this is nothing new. Not impressive or very good.3: "Reload" by Rob Zombie: Metal mixed with techno and Zombie's vocals. Very hard and rough. LOUD!4: "Furious Angels" by Rob Dougan: Beautiful, plain and simple. Easily one of the best songs on the soundtrack. Mixing of orchestral music with techno beats results in a song that lets you close your eyes and almost feel the Matrix. 5: "Lucky You" by The Deftones: Very mellow, moody and haunting. Beautifully done and very fitting for the soundtrack.6: "The Passportal" by Team Sleep: Techno mostly, not much to say about it. Mid tempo.7: "Sleeping Awake" by P.O.D.: Never been a POD fan, and this song hasn't changed that fact. More of the same from them. Not sure why its on this soundtrack other than for the lyrics. Musically it doesn't fit with the rest of the songs.8: "Bruises" by Unloco: Have never heard of the band before, but this song makes me want to listen to more of them. Good heavy song.9: "Calm Like a Bomb" by Rage Against the Machine: Classic, a song by RATM almost seemed inevitable after the ending of the first movie.10: "Dread Rock" by Oakenfold: The song most likely alludes to the Twins, The two men in the matrix who are dressed in white and can go all ghostly. Techno and typical Oakenfold but very good.11: "Zion" by Fluke: More techno, although this one is less hectic and more tribal than "Dread Rock." Most likely will be used in the movie during the Zion scene.12: "When the World Ends (Oakenfold Remix)" by Dave Matthews Band: BIGGEST surprise of the soundtrack and easily the best song on the first disc. Matthew's voice is creepy and haunting and the remix by Oakenfold fits right in with it. Should play over the end credits. Beautiful song and a big change from the original, which was featured on the DMB album "Everyday."Disc 2: Score
1: "Main Title" by Don Davis (Pure score, sounds like the original.)
2: "Trinity Dream" by Don Davis (Pure score.)
3: "Teahouse" by Juno Reactor featuring Gocoo (Amazing track! Tribal Drums!)
4: "Chateau" by Rob Dougan (Like 'Furious Angels,' another brilliant song!)
5: "Mona Lisa Overdrive" by Juno Reactor/Don Davis (good track)
6: "Burly Brawl" by Juno Reactor vs. Don Davis (BIG, loud and fun.)
7: "Matrix Reloaded Suite" by Don Davis (more straight score)Extras as well, including trailers and a documentary on the making of the video game that ties into the movie. If you're a fan of the first movie's soundtrack, then definitely purchase this one."

An Incredible Score (who cares about the soundtrack?)

cloudnin | Nebraska, USA | 05/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With The Matrix Reloaded - The Album, for the price of 1 CD you get 2 - both the soundtrack and the score. The soundtrack is "just ok" for the most part, featuring some songs that were played during the film and 10 minutes of credits, and some that were not. The CD gets off to a pretty good start with the wordless Session by Linkin Park. Marilyn Manson's track is aptly titled, as indeed it is Sh**. Reload by Rob Zombie is OK, but nothing we haven't heard from him a hundred times before. Next is the instrumental version of Furious Angels by Rob Dougan. This is my favorite track on the soundtrack, even though it really belongs on the score CD (and probably would be if not for all the CD-ROM material on the 2nd disc). Lucky You by Deftones sounds like it has potential, but it never really goes anywhere. The Passportal by Team Sleep (never heard of them) isn't terrible, but it sure isn't very exciting. The soundtrack would be greatly improved if instead of featuring the 3:23 Sleeping Awake by P.O.D., there was 3:23 of silence (EOD). Bruises by Unloco (never heard of them) is OK, but again, nothing special. Calm Like A Bomb by Rage Against The Machine is great, like most everything by RATM, but I've heard it a hundred times before. Dread Rock by Oakenfold isn't bad, but it's not great either. Zion by Fluke sounds similar to the previous track. I was kind of surprised by When The World Ends (Oakenfold Remix) by DMB came on when I was sitting through the credits of Reloaded waiting for the Revolutions preview. The vocals are normal enough, but it's coupled with techno music, making for a track that's interesting, anyway.The 2nd CD, in contrast, is just pure greatness from beginning to end. The first two tracks, Main Title and Trinity Dream by Don Davis sound like they're straight off Davis's great score for the original film. Teahouse by Juno Reactor & Gocoo is a short but good drumming track. Chateau by Rob Dougan is very good. Next is the music from the car chase, Mona Lisa Overdrive by Juno Reactor & Don Davis. This is simply a great track. Burly Brawl is another excellent Juno Reactor & Don Davis collaboration. The score ends with the "Matrix Reloaded" Suite by Don Davis, and harkens back to Davis's score for the first film. It doesn't feature the hard-hitting beats of the rest of the tracks on this score, but it is still good. The score CD also features some CD-ROM material, including previews for Reloaded, the Animatrix shorts (inc. Flight Of The Osiris), and the Enter The Matrix video game. These previews are worth watching once, but they're all available at the official Matrix site.The soundtrack CD is probably 2.5/5, but the score CD is definitely 5/5. Since you're basically paying full price for the score CD (well worth it) and getting the soundtrack for free (you get what you pay for), I give The Matrix Reloaded - The Album 5 stars."

Blew me away!

S. Smith | Nashville, USA | 05/09/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is beyond description. Dipping through multiple genres, the tracks are relentless, industrial/house/rock masterpieces that more than convey the mood of the Matrix. The first CD starts and continues strong with the tracks by Linkin Park, Mariyn Manson, and POD, and ends on Oakie's and Fluke's pounding decks. Could do without the track by Rob Dougan (but that's me).
The second CD is insane for an original film score. Gets you thinking of green code in the first two tracks, and then hits you between the eyes with the tribal "Teahouse" and wrings you out in "Mona Lisa Overdrive". It's really an experience that gets your heart slamming in your chest.
Overall, a great way to get stoked for the movie, drive fast, or just listen to some great, textural(electro/metal) music."

I am very impressed by this album

Andrew J. Fredrickson | Superior, CO | 05/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"After seeing the movie 3 times already, I decided to get the album . I absolutely loved the music from the 100 Agent Smith scene & the highway as well. Well, I'll give a rundown on the tracks. Disc 1: Songs-Linkin Park-Session: I'm not a fan of LP, so I have no comment on this one.-Marilyn Manson-This is the New [stuff]: I liked this one a lot, it definatly suits the Martix, plus he was great in the last soundtrack.-Rob Zombie-Reload: Excellent track w/ great addittions of techno, good stuff here.-Rob Dougan-Furious Angels: Another good track.-Deftones-Lucky You: This one, I have mixed feelings. Medicore would be the best way to put it, but that's me.-Team Sleep-The Passportal: Good Track.-P.O.D.-Sleeping Awake: I hate christian bands except for POD, they have well done songs and this is no exception.-Unloco-Bruises: Pretty good, but there's better on the disc.-(Paul)Oakenfold-Dread rock: I have been listening to Paul since Tranceport came out. No wonder he's the greatest DJ on the planet. This is probably my fav track on disc 1.-Fluke-Zion: New band I believe, but they have a great song here.-Dave Matthews Band-When the World Ends(Oakenfold Remix): This was a huge surprise for me, but its done very well. Disc 2: The Score of the Movie-Don Davis-Main Title: It will be a long time before I forget this track, an awsome opener.-Don Davis-Trinity Dream: Good, good.-Juno Reactor/Gocoo-Teahouse: A nice little heart-pumping track for the teahouse scene.-Rob Dougan-Chateau: My fav on the disc, incredible orchestra w/ excellent electronica beats. Just simply awsome.-Juno Reactor/Don Davis-Mona Lisa Overdrive: A excellent piece of music here. When you see the highway scene, you'll know what I'm talking about.-Juno Reactor/Don Davis- Burly Brawl: Compelling, but not really a fav of mine.-Don Davis-"Matrix Reloaded" Suite: Incerdibily long but in a league of its own.Great album through and through. I recommend it to anyone who is a fanatic Matrix fan."

Worth it!

Ash1138 | Centennial, CO United States | 05/13/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not usually one to buy soundtracks. Most soundtracks have nothing more than a few good songs, and the rest I could care less about. The original Matrix soundtrack had some excellent stuff, along with some garbage. I ended up just purchasing the albums of the tracks I liked rather than buying the soundtrack itself, and I haven't regretted the decision one bit. I do however, buy movie scores from time to time (the good ones), and I bought the original Matrix score which is 'OK'. It's not surprising then that when I found that, for Reloaded, both the soundtrack and the score would be released on one album I was a bit disappointed. Part of me admired the idea from a marketing standpoint; forcing everyone to buy both albums. The other part of me was a little bit happy since double-CDs are usually less than two separate CDs. Needless to say, when I found this CD on sale for less than the cost of your typical single CD, I was thrilled.The Matrix website will allow you to preview 8-10 of the songs in their entirety, and it was doing this myself that made up my mind to buy the album (even before I discovered the great price). I recommend you do the same, as listening to the songs for yourself are better than any review could possibly be. But since you can't listen to the entire album, read on.Disc 1: For the most part, this disc compares to the first Matrix soundtrack. In some ways it's better, but in others it's not as good. Returning artists are Marilyn Manson, Rob Zombie, and Rage Against the Machine. Unfortunately, none of their tracks come close to their work on the original. Only Rob Zombie's track Reload was even listenable. The Manson track is easily the worst thing on either CD. The rest of the tracks are more consistent, if different than the first Matrix soundtrack. This time, there is a much more techno/electronic feel as opposed to the more hardcore industrial/metal feel of the original. This will be good for some, and bad for others depending on your taste.Disc 2: This is where the album takes a step up from the original score. Present is Don Davis' familiar themes, but in addition is considerable collaberation with the ectronic/techno group Juno Reactor giving the score a techno sound that I found much more listenable than the original.In all, the great price makes this double-CD a great value. Fans of the original soundtrack or score probably won't want to miss this."

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